CO129-594-1 Rehabilitation of Hong Kong University. For extracted photographs see CN 3-45- Advisory Committee report 29-3-1946 - 3-7-1946 — Page 172

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(c) high coats.

(d) language.

3%

paralysed the commercial activities and the servicęsa of the Colony, the students did not take part, but continued their studies and added to them the perform- ance of domestic and zonial duties in their hostels.

This period of acute nationalist feeling we a time of very active establishment and development of Chinese Universities, a work in which China had generous aid from America, hot unnaturally, popular disfavour visited those who chose to pass by the Chinese Universities in order to study in Hong Kong. There are now Universiti s in China, many of them of a high standard. The University of Hong Kong, better than many in equipment and resources/yet falls below the best. Long before the Japanese invasion of China, antagonisa had died down, and after the invacion, more Chinese applied for admission than the University could take.

A third difficulty has been that the scale of costs at Long Kong beiv-reity was much higher than that at Chinese Universities. The cost of living in ilong Kong, generally, for all classes(in hiper than it is in interior China. Salaries and Govern- ment officers and of teachers are very much higher. It was a principle of revolution austerity in China to pay all public servants, including University teachers, salarios that by sestern standards are totally inadequate. Hong Kong University, follow- ing local standards of remuneration has paid its lecturers a salary nominally higher than that of a Governor of a Chinese Province. This difference of pay must continue: though the disparity of cost of living in Hong Kong and China may lessen, it will remain great; and, therefore, if the training of Chinese in long hong is in a political sense desirable, submentiona to bridge the gap must be generous.

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There has been a minor language difficulty. Cantonese is the normal speech of llong hong; and Hong Kong generally, including the Colonial Education Department, has been conservative in adopting the simplified spoken kandarin, Kwok Yu, which has maCÀ C great headway in China, But conservatism is being dissipated by experience. Sir Cecil Clementi when Governor of Hong Kong, did a great work in developing Chinese studies in the University and on the foundation that he laid a liberal attitude has established itself during the last decade or more, in University studies and therefore this difficulty should soon be surmounted.